Introduzione alla linguistica latina (review)

Moreno Morani’s Introduzione alla linguistica latina gives a thorough introductory survey of Latin historical linguistics from a critical standpoint. The scope of the book is broader than the title suggests: M treats both the Indo-European origins and the Romance outcomes of the Latin features he discusses. In addition to a presentation of the handbook facts, M offers a critical scrutiny of particular issues, and, in many cases, the history of the argumentation. The book can serve as an introduction to argumentation in historical linguistics as well as an introduction to Latin. It is suitable as an intermediate-level textbook, with copious footnotes serving more advanced students.

In Ch. 1, M introduces the goals and the methodology of historical linguistics. After a brief discussion of the comparative method and of the Indo-European language family, M launches into a detailed treatment of the placement of Latin within the family. The status of Latin as a peripheral language, the Italy-Celtic affinity, and the relationship between Latin and other Italic languages receive detailed attention. The chapter also covers variation within Latin across time and space, with a more cursory discussion of sociolinguistic variation. The last section outlines the changes that lead from Latin to the Romance languages.

Ch. 2 surveys the handbook information on Latin historical phonetics and phonology. M begins with a concise but thorough introduction to the phonological system of Proto-Indo-European, including critical discussions of several issues such as the laryngeal hypothesis. Students of Latin will find the discussion of Indo-European issues framed in the Latin context especially helpful. The remainder of the chapter is fact-heavy. M first covers the basic information on the changes between Indo-European and Latin, as well as Latin-internal prehistoric changes. The second half of the chapter takes on the description of the Latin phonological system. A welcome addition to the standard array of facts is an informative summary of Greek loan phonology. The chapter concludes with a brief outline of Romance developments of the Latin system.

Ch. 3 covers Indo-European and Latin historical morphology. M concentrates on the formal properties of declension and conjugation, devoting much attention to the morphophonological restructuring of Indo-European paradigms in Latin and to the treatment of specific problems like the origin of the genitive ī of o-stems. The chapter contains a useful summary of the discussion surrounding the origins and properties of Latin aspect; the thorny issue of Indo-European aspect is treated only briefly. M concludes with a summary of Romance developments. Ch. 4 briefly surveys the provenance of the Latin lexical stock.

M’s Introduzione is broad in coverage and detailed in its treatment of specific problems, which complements well the handbooks with a more general scope such as Andrew Sihler’s Comparative grammar of Greek and Latin (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995). Two shortcomings of the volume are the lack of discussion of Latin syntax, and the lack of subject and form indices, or at least a more detailed table of contents, which would make the book a more user-friendly reference tool.